Vegetable Biryani

Food spawns traditions– or maybe it’s the other way round. But you get what I mean, don’t you?

Most of life’s biggest celebrations, observations, and events center around food, gorgeous food. Special kinds of foods mark special occasions. Growing up, food was always the centerpiece of just about any day in our lives that was out of the ordinary. Puran Poli for Holi. Modaks for Ganesh Chaturthi. Chavde, Chakali, and Karanjis for Diwali. Shrikhand-Puri for Gudi Padva, the Maharashtrian new year (while most dishes were usually made at home, the Shrikhand was always bought “ready-made” from the bustling, family-owned Vijay Store in Vile Parle which made, unarguably, the best shrikhand ever).

When there was nothing to celebrate, the food alone would sometimes lift a day above mere ordinariness.In my home too, where celebrations don’t necessarily follow the beaten path, a number of traditions have evolved around food and, sometimes, its availability. And many of these delicious celebrations happen in summer.

When I planted my zucchini, for instance, I waited eagerly for the day I could collect enough of its flashy yellow blooms to make my favorite zucchini flower pakoras (I did, earlier this week). Light as gossamer, these have to be eaten to be believed, and they made the day one to cherish and remember.

Also in summer, I wait for the tomatoes to start forming on their delicate green vines so I can make Green Tomato Masial, one of Desi’s favorite foods that I usually cannot cook during the long months of winter because the only tomatoes I can buy here are already ripe. And when else but in summer can I make tons of different dishes featuring eggplantsin every hue (you know it’s my favorite veggie)?

One more dish that’s like a tiny celebration in itself is a biryani.

I’ve posted biryani recipes before, and they’re all delicious, but this time I was looking to make a simple vegetable biryani. For inspiration, I turned to the VahChef.

The VahChef’s biryani is not vegan, so I needed to make some substitutions, like using my “tofu yogurt” instead of regular yogurt, and skipping the paneer (you could add firm tofu cubes). I also ended up making other tweaks to the biryani masala (he uses storebought masala in the recipe, but I wanted to try making his version of a biryani masala from another of his videos). The masala had some strange ingredients in it, like prunes, which I honestly would never have thought of adding to a biryani masala. But I did, and because the prunes I had were not quite dry, my blender ended up gasping and choking and begging for some water before it could move on. To make a long story short, my masala ended up being a wet one rather than in powder form. But all was well and ended well, and the biryani masala and the biryani were nothing short of spectacular. I also substituted the anardana, or pomegranate powder, with some aamchoor, or mango powder, because the role of the anardana in biryani masalas is to tenderize the meat. And here in Holy Cow world we don’t have to worry about tenderizing dead animals.

So here’s the recipe. Hope everyone’s enjoying the summer. Have a great weekend, all!

A generous pinch of saffron, soaked in ½ cup of warm water for about 30 minutes

1 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat 2 cups of water and add to it some salt.

When the water comes to a boil, add the rice. Bring the rice back to a boil, lower the heat, and cook about 4-5 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Be careful not to let the rice stick to the bottom of the saucepan. You want the rice to be mostly -- not all the way-- cooked. Set aside.

Heat the oil

Add to it the cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and saute for a few seconds. Add the cumin seeds and the ginger-garlic paste and then the veggies-- potatoes, carrots and cauliflower florets.

Saute the veggies for about five minutes, stirring frequently, so they take on a golden-brown sheen.

I love biryani and am looking forward to preparing this meatless dish. The photos add to its appeal.Should I open the cardamom pods and just use the seeds inside? I think as a pod it will not get dispersed properly if I don’t.Is that a purse in the picture?Sorry to be so inquisitive.Thank You.

the biryani looks all spicy and perfect!.. reminder to self to put some biryani in next week’s menu!a nice write up too.. our big family get togethers were all about food.. all the greasy punjabi rajma, pulao or parathas.. and the super human sizes of the lassi glasses.. which the kids would never finish. come to think of it.. i never liked the lassi much.. so i can still have a vegan rajma. pulao and paratha celebration! Hope you are having a great summer!

Anthony, use the whole cardamom pod– the flavors do get absorbed by the rice. Even the skin has tons of flavor, and the pods soften and open up when they are cooked. And yes, that is a tiny little purse that I got at the bridal shower for my dear friend, Margo.

Richa, your family get-togethers sound like fun, with all that food! And yes, isn’t it great so many Indian foods are already vegan– all one has to do sometimes is hold the ghee.

Pavani, thanks! I was surprised by the prunes too, but I think they do add that special something. Now I’m a believer.

I was looking for an excuse to go back to shop at Indian stores and markets in downtown Lisbon, and here it is! – this looks delicious!! I’m gonna try it!terrific pics as well – I’m feeling hungry ;-).

This is the one dish I have not ventured to try after turning vegan…thats about 4 months, only cos I didn’t know what to substitute for the yogurt which is so essential to the recipe. Now I know what I am making Sunday! YAY! Thanks.

Why is this cooking procedure different from the ChickenFreeBiriyani(CFB)… here the Rice n Veggi mixture is cooked in a Pre-heated Oven where as the CFB is cooked on stove top ?? does it make a Big Difference…

Shefali, glad you’re enjoying the blog! To make this biryani with brown rice, cook the brown rice completely (unlike the white rice which you have to cook partially). White rice cooks very fast, whereas brown rice, even after being cooked, retains a chewy texture. Follow the recipe for cooking brown rice in this post:http://www.holycowvegan.net/2011/12/peanut-curry-spiced-brown-rice-and.html. Then simply proceed with the rest of the biryani recipe.

Hi Vaishali!! This seems as good a place as any to ask my question (cos it’s the post that came up when I searched anardana) – I got some today and wonder if you have any recipes with it or know any good ones. I saw Sanjeev kapoor has a Pindi Chole any chance you’ve tried that? Thanks!

Hannah, Anardana is great in almost any Indian recipe– it adds the perfect tang but at the same time the flavor is deep and sweet, not just sour, the way lemon is. You can mix it up in paratha stuffings or add it to, as you found out, chana masala. I have not tried Sanjeev Kapoor’s Pindi Chole but as a long-time fan of this great chef I can vouch that it would be amazing. Have fun!